nothing Was 2007
The gallery is pleased to announce the opening of Nothing Was, Siebren Versteegís first solo exhibition in New York City and a new project exhibition space at 511a W 22nd Street. Siebren Versteeg is known for strategic digital interventions that detangle the omnipresent data stream from contemporary life. Versteeg utilizes real-time data such as Google image searches, live news feeds, and soap opera plot summaries, and condenses the noise into humorous and poetic works that highlight the pervasive and escalating influence media plays on our perception of the world. The multiple new works produced for the exhibition include code-driven images, videos, and audio works that engage the viewer with eternal digital scenarios, contrasting human mortality with the lifespan of data. Something for Everyone (2007) collages hundreds of thousands of downloaded images into an endless, perspectival field, above which a B-2 Stealth Bomber soars. The Higher We Climb, The Further We See (From), 16,777,216 - variation 1 (2007), composites each of the 16,777,216 colors of the RGB digital palette in a random configuration, creating an all-over field of non-information. As The World Turns (2006) transcribes the daily synopsis of the soap opera, which has aired continuously for 50 years, through notes that the artistís avatar appears to scrawl continuously in front of a webcam. Boom (fresher acconci) (2007) also fixes the artist in a computer-generated lock groove. Taking a visual cue from Vito Acconciís Red Tapes, the work randomly downloads images from the internet, which the artist slaps onto a table one at a time. DS (Dark Star) (2007) perpetually re-authors the Grateful Deadís infamous, unending swan song. Versteegís work begins with the assumption that the real and the virtual are hopelessly intertwined. Whether applying statistical filters or assigning a subjective, personal frame of reference, his work provides an all-access pass to the field of information, and tells us that one image is no longer significant, rather it is the glut that forces perspective. By taking steps back in time, distance, and resolution, Versteeg establishes elegant filters by which to understand and participate in the contemporary information economy.
More Images of nothing Was